Earlier this year, The Washington Football Team named Kennedy High School’s Lenny Myers educator of the month. Last night, they recognized the MCPS P.E. teacher on the field.
Lenny Myers was awarded Educator of the Month by The Washington Football Team‘s Black Engagement Network earlier this year.
”Mr. Myers leads from the front. He is an amazing teacher in the classroom at John F. Kennedy High School and his students love and respect him.
His best work is in his community; Mr. Myers has a program for children looking to gain new basketball skills through his program, “Reach Beyond Basketball.” This program provides financial help to to children in the community with scholarships in order to take the burden off of struggling families.”
More on The Washington Football Team’s Black Engagement Network:
The Washington Football team has officially launched its own Black Engagement Network as part of the franchise’s efforts to strengthen its commitment to Black employees through professional development and career management.
“B.E.N. will work with organization executives and leadership to provide support, education and racial equality initiatives in communities across the Washington, D.C., metro area where our employees live and work,” head coach Ron Rivera announced June 10. “I am honored to work at an organization with so many people who want to change our society for the better.”
B.E.N, which was organized in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, is an NFL Employee Affinity Group established to develop, acquire, and retain Black talent at the NFL while also serving as an employee resource group for league leadership as needed. Rivera said the network hopes to create “an inclusive work environment and community outreach, while creating an inter-cultural understanding of Black employees.”
“I am saddened by how hurt the Black Community is by what has transpired,” Rivera said. “I am proud of everyone who is on the right side of this fight against social injustice. I am eager to help in any way I can in making a difference.”
Last week Seneca Valley principal Marc Cohen put out a message to the community calling on local dads to help provide support and provide positive energy during lunch time and after school.
At least one local dad took him up on his offer, as the Seneca Valley PTSA shared Ali Hashemzadeh’s account of his time at Seneca Valley.
“I had an opportunity today to spend some time at Seneca Valley during the lunch period. Was it busy? Yes. Was it fun? Yes. But more importantly it was also a great opportunity to embarrass my daughter for which I live for. But it did offer me a different viewpoint as an SV parent. As we often become numb to the parent process at times. I’m guilty of that myself. The drop off, pick up, and then repeat process. But todays visit was good: It was great to be on the “inside” if you will. I saw SV staff actively engaged, students enjoying their time with friends, and of course students having lunch and being the young people that they are. I got to walk around a bit and bother a few as well. Enjoyed my time I truly did. Definitely won’t be my last visit.
The point of my post here is that I urge all those who can take part in the “Dads on Duty” program to do so. I applaud SV for making this positive experience possible for us dads. It provides me with yet another opportunity to connect and stay involved in my daughters life and day. As much as she will allow at least!
Have an amazing remainder of the week everyone!”
Per the MCPS Employee and Retiree Service Center:
The federal government and the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) have approved and authorized funding to provide all MCPS bargaining unit member employees with a recruitment and retention incentive.
A bargaining unit member includes all permanent and conditional supporting services employees who have attained permanent status employed by the board.
Employees who were bargaining unit members on October 15, 2021, will receive a one-time payment of $1,100 in their December 17, 2021, paychecks. Those hired after October 15, 2021, but before February 1, 2022, will receive a pro-rated incentive amount in their February 25, 2022, paychecks.
The funding is part of Maryland’s American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) grant process.
As announced earlier this year, negotiated agreements between the Board of Education (BOE) and employee associations included the incentives contingent on federal and state authorization.
Although the intention was to distribute the payment with the paycheck on November 19, 2021, the appropriation (i.e., the approval by the BOE and the County Council required before MCPS can spend money) was approved by the BOE on November 9, 2021, and will be introduced to the County Council on November 16, 2021.
The County Council’s appropriation process will not be completed until November 30, 2021.
In a message to the community, MCPS has outlined changes to quarantine guidelines. The full message can be seen below:
Dear MCPS Community,
We want to clarify the most recent guidance governing quarantine procedures that will begin in schools on Nov. 8, 2021. The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) revised school quarantine guidanceon Oct. 27. If certain criteria are met, students may not have to quarantine, or may be asked to quarantine for a reduced period of time. This new guidance is expected to reduce the number of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students required to quarantine and participate in virtual learning.
What Is New:
Based on the guidance from MDH and MSDE, and in collaboration with the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), there will now be two categories for no quarantine or a shortened quarantine period for close contacts of an individual who tests positive with COVID-19. Close contacts are individuals who are less than 6 feet from someone who tests positive for a cumulative total of 15 minutes over the course of 24 hours, or less than 3 feet in a classroom setting.
- Cases where the infected student and close contacts are wearing masks during the exposure and the exposure was not during a high-risk activity: The close contacts must be enrolled in, or must sign up for, the MCPS COVID-19 screening testing program. As long as they consent to participate in the screening testing program, they can continue to come to school each day. However, they cannot participate in high-risk school-sponsored activities and are expected to still quarantine outside the school setting. The state defines high-risk settings or activities as “indoor or high-contact athletics, and indoor forced exhalation activities, such as singing, exercising, or playing a wind or brass instrument.” Families can enroll in the screening testing program by filling out the form linked here.
- All other situations, including when masks are not worn or when the infected individual is an adult: This includes identified close contacts during lunch or for exposure that occurs during high-risk settings or activities. In these cases, unvaccinated close contacts will be required to quarantine for 10 days, but can return to school after day 7 if the close contact submits a negative PCR test taken after day 5 from the last date of exposure.
What Has Not Changed:
Symptomatic individuals with a positive COVID-19 test must quarantine for 10 days, self-monitor for 14 days, and can only return to schools if free from COVID-19 symptoms, including fever of 100.4 or more, sore throat, cough, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, vomiting, and loss of taste or smell. As before, the quarantine guidance only applies to unvaccinated individuals. Asymptomatic vaccinated individuals will not need to quarantine, as has been the case throughout this school year.
Montgomery County Public Schools
The Board of Education will hold its business meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021. Closed session will begin at 12:00 p.m. Public agenda items will begin at 2:30 p.m.
The meeting will be broadcast live on Comcast Channel 34, Verizon Channel 36, and RCN channel 89. The meeting can also be viewed on the MCPS website at www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org
The agenda, with related materials attached, can be found on the Board of Education’s BoardDocs site (please visit this link for the most up-to-date agenda).
AGENDA
1. Closed Session Approval – 12:00 p.m.
1.1 Acknowledgement of a Quorum
1.2 REVISED Resolution for Today’s Closed Session
2. Opening of Meeting – 2:30 p.m.
2.1 Approval of the Agenda
3. Human Resources and Development – 2:31 p.m.
3.1 Recommended Appointments
4. Recognitions – 2:40 p.m.
4.1 National School Bus Safety Week
4.2 National Native American Heritage Month and Day
4.3 National School Psychology Week
5. Public Comments – 2:50 p.m.
5.1 Katie Yuan, InnovateX
5.2 Rodney Peele, Montgomery County Council of PTAs
5.3 Deborah Berger, Luxmanor Citizens Association
5.4 Angelina Xu
5.5 Kara McNulty
5.6 Kelly Speck
5.7 Dawn Iannaco-Hahn
5.8 David Zhou
5.9 Julie Saxon
5.10 Philip German
5.11 Roby Fields
5.12 Hana Frank
5.13 Matthew Casertano, Jet Wu, Arya Palan, Konchok Shonu, and Emmanuel Odim, Blair Financial Literacy Club
5.14 Noah Pinson, Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association
5.15 Ruhama Endishaw
5.16 Nareen Othman
5.17 Camila Shiva
5.18 Vaishnavi Banda
5.19 Mohammad Shazeb
5.20 Laura Vaughan
6. Items of Discussion/Action – 3:50 p.m.
6.1 Recommendation to Approve Cost-of-Living Adjustment, Step and Longevity Increases, and Recruitment and Retention Incentives for Montgomery County Public Schools Bargaining Unit Employees
6.2 General Wage Adjustment for Positions Not on Salary Schedule
7. Item of Discussion – 4:05 p.m.
7.1 Regulation KLA-RA, Responding to Inquiries and Complaints from the Public
8. Facilities and Boundaries Work Session – 4:35 p.m.
8.1 Supplemental A—Interim Superintendent’s Recommendation for the Gaithersburg Cluster Elementary School #8 Boundary Study (oral discussion)
8.2 Supplemental B—Interim Superintendent’s Recommendation for the Bethesda, Somerset, and Westbrook Elementary Schools Boundary Study (oral discussion)
9. Recess – 5:35 p.m.
10. Item of Discussion – 6:15 p.m.
10.1 Mitigating Learning Disruption
11. Item of Discussion – 7:15 p.m.
11.1 2022–2023 School Year Calendar
12. Consent Items – 8:15 p.m.
12.1 Procurement Contracts of $25,000 or More
12.2 Contract Approval for RFP 9145.1, Fresh Produce—Extension
12.3 Utilization of the Fiscal Year 2022 Provision for Future Supported Projects
12.4 Appointment to Defined Contribution Investment Committee—403(b)/457(b) Retirement Savings Plan
13. Board of Education Items – 8:25 p.m.
13.1 Future Closed Session Resolution
13.2 Report of Previous Closed Session
13.3 Minutes for the October 18, 2021, Meeting REVISED
13.4 Previous New Business
13.5 New Business
14. Informational Summary – 8:27 p.m.
14.1 Informational Summary for the October 5, 2021, Meeting
15. Adjournment – 8:30 p.m.
Student Member of the Board of Education, Hana O’Looney will host a live virtual Student Town Hall on Monday, Oct. 25 from 7 – 8 p.m. Her guest for the hourlong event will be Interim Superintendent Monifa B. McKnight. They will answer questions that have been submitted prior to the program and live from Instagram.
To watch, click on the @hanaolooney or @mcps_md Instagram profile during the event. You will be also be able to watch on YouTube and on the MCPS homepage.
Submit a question. Students must be logged in to their Gmail .net account to submit a question.
MCPS released three proposed calendar options in a memo last week.
Labor Day falls on Monday, September 5th, in fall 2022.
All calendar options must follow state law. The parameters for mandatory closures can be seen below:
• Tuesday, November 8, 2022: Election Day
• Thursday/Friday, November 24th and 25th:l, 2022: Thanksgiving and the day after
• Saturday, December 24th, 2022 through Sunday January 1st, 2023 (Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day)
• Monday, January 16th, 2023: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Monday, February 20th, 2023: Presidents’ Day
• Friday, April 7th, 2023: Friday before Easter
• Monday, April 10th, 2023: Monday after Easter
• Monday, May 29th, 2023: Memorial Day
All three scenarios below include:
• Full length Spring Break (six total non-instructional days, one full week plus the Monday after Easter; and two weekends).
• Contingency Days (all scenarios demonstrate the possibility of modifying the calendar to make up instruction during the year)
• Professional Days (all scenarios return to the previous practice of scheduling a full non-instructional day for professional development and grading and planning time at the end of each quarter.
The three proposed calendars can be seen below:
The Montgomery County Board of Education is pleased to announce the national search for the next superintendent of schools for Montgomery County Public Schools, who will begin serving on July 1, 2022.
Working in partnership with the search firm of Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates (HYA), the Board is committed to hiring the best person to lead our school system as we prepare students for success in college and career.
The search will be guided by the Board’s core values, strategic priorities, and desired characteristics gathered this year from input by stakeholders in Montgomery County. The Board will be gathering input from the community on the critical characteristics of the next superintendent in a number of ways. There is a survey, virtual town halls, interviews, and focus groups with a broad spectrum of community leaders. All of the information gathered will inform the selection of the next superintendent.
Review the postion posting here
Survey to gather feedback on desired characteristics for the new superintendent here
Montgomery County citizens are invited to attend a series of virtual public forums designed to gather community comment on the educational priorities and desired leadership qualities of the next superintendent of the Montgomery County Public Schools.
More information about the superintendent search will be posted on superintendent search website as available.
MCPS Interim Superintendent Monifa McKnight has shared recommendations of new proposed boundaries for the new Gaithersburg elementary school that will be located at Kelley Park.
The proposed boundaries are based on a study that involves all seven elementary schools in the Gaithersburg High School cluster, as well as Forest Oak and Gaithersburg middle schools.
The new elementary school is scheduled to open its doors in August 2022.
Below you will see background on the project, part of the superintendent’s recommendation, maps of the proposed boundaries, and access to the full report, courtesy of MCPS.
Background
On November 26, 2019, the Board of Education authorized a boundary study to determine the service area for Gaithersburg Cluster Elementary School #8 (Kelley Park site) (Resolution No. 583-19). All of the elementary schools in the Gaithersburg Cluster—Gaithersburg, Goshen, Laytonsville, Rosemont, Strawberry Knoll, Summit Hall, and Washington Grove elementary schools—were included in the boundary study.
To evaluate the middle school articulation patterns, the scope of the boundary study also included Forest Oak and Gaithersburg middle schools. No high school boundary changes were included in the study as all of the elementary and middle schools articulate to Gaithersburg High School. See Appendix A for the current articulation charts and area maps.
Through discussions regarding the new Gaithersburg Cluster Elementary School #8, the community and several Board of Education members expressed strong interest that the boundary study be initiated and completed earlier than usual, in advance of the school opening. Based on this input, the Board of Education approved that the boundary study occurs approximately 30 months prior to the opening of the new school. A report was to be issued in fall 2020, with the Board of Education action on the superintendent’s recommendation in March 2021.
Based on this action, the boundary study began as scheduled in February 2020; however, as a result of the COVID-19 health pandemic, the study was paused in March 2020. The process resumed in early October 2020, with virtual meetings.
The COVID-19 health pandemic affected the student enrollment for the 2020–2021 school year, particularly at the elementary school level. Although the recommendation for this boundary study was to have been released in January 2021, based on the impact on student enrollment, the Board of Education approved a delay to the boundary study action until November 2021 (Resolution No. 516-20).
As part of this delay, staff was asked to present the boundary study report on March 9, 2021. The additional time allowed for a review of preliminary student enrollment for the 2021–2022 school year, as well as other relevant student enrollment and capacity information.
Recommendation
My recommendation maintains the current walk areas for the elementary schools in the cluster. It provides compact and contiguous boundaries for all of the schools, except Rosemont Elementary School, which had a noncontiguous service area prior to the boundary study. Also, it will allow students from Washington Grove Elementary School (Zone W2) who previously could not walk to Washington Grove Elementary School to walk to Gaithersburg Elementary School #8. However, these students who previously walked to Forest Oak Middle School, will need to be bused to Gaithersburg Middle School. Students from Rosemont Elementary School (Zones R5 and R6) will be able to walk to Washington Grove Elementary School. By maximizing the number of walkers, the school system minimizes the number of buses used, which reduces the impact on the operating budget and the environment.
Gaithersburg Elementary School #8
The recommended reassignments for this new elementary school will provide a FARMS percentage rate similar to both Gaithersburg and Summit Hall elementary schools. With respect to the geography factor, the recommendation maximizes the number of walkers to the new elementary school, with a contiguous service area. And finally, with this recommendation, capacity will be available during the 6-year planning period.
Gaithersburg Elementary School
Gaithersburg Elementary School has the highest FARMS percentage of the schools in the cluster, with the percentage fairly consistent across the entire service area. In order to advance the demographic factor, it was necessary to reassign student from schools with lower FARMS percentages to Gaithersburg Elementary School in order to reduce the FARMS percentage disparity. The reassignment of students from Strawberry Knoll Elementary School to Gaithersburg Elementary School will address this disparity and reduce the FARMS percentage at Gaithersburg Elementary School.
With respect to the geography factor, the recommendation maintains all the current number of walkers at Gaithersburg Elementary School, provides for a contiguous service area, and reassigns students from Gaithersburg Elementary School who can walk to Gaithersburg Elementary School #8. Finally, with this recommendation, the utilization rate would decrease at Gaithersburg Elementary School through the 6-year planning period.
Rosemont Elementary School
The FARMS percentage for Rosemont Elementary School is in the mid-range compared to the elementary schools in the cluster and will be maintained at this range with the reassignment recommendation. With respect to the geography factor, as noted above, prior to the boundary study, the Rosemont Elementary School service area was noncontiguous, and with this recommendation, the service area is expanded to three noncontiguous areas. With respect to the utilization factor, this recommendation reduces the space deficit at Rosemont Elementary School below its capacity over the 6-year planning period.
Strawberry Knoll Elementary School
Strawberry Knoll Elementary School has the lowest FARMS percentage of the schools included in the staff-developed options, with the demographics fairly consistent across the service area. The recommendation to reassign some students from Strawberry Knoll Elementary School to Gaithersburg Elementary School reduces the disparity in FARMS percentages amongst the schools included in the staff developed options, as well as reduces the overutilization at Strawberry Knoll Elementary School.
With respect to the geography factor, the walk zone is in the center of this service area with zones that are bused to the north and south of the walk area. If all non-walkers to the school were reassigned, non-contiguous service areas would be created.
When considering the utilization factor, similar to Summit Hall Elementary School, the walk zone at Strawberry Knoll Elementary School is almost equivalent to the student capacity of the school. In order to maintain the current number of walkers, the recommendation does not fully address the overutilization at Strawberry Knoll Elementary School. However, as previously stated, future consideration to address any space deficit will be evaluated through the approved Watkins Mill Elementary School Capacity Study, which will explore capacity solutions for the Watkins Mill Cluster, as well as adjacent clusters at the elementary school level.
Summit Hall Elementary School
Summit Hall Elementary School has a high FARMS percentage compared to the other elementary schools in the cluster, with the demographics fairly consistent across the service area. As previously stated, the walk zone for this school is almost equivalent to its capacity.
With respect to the demographic, geography, and utilization factors, this recommendation reassigns all of the non-walkers at Summit Hall Elementary School to either Gaithersburg Elementary School #8 or Rosemont Elementary School. However, due to the demographic consistency throughout the service area, the student reassignments do not significantly reduce the FARMS percentage at Summit Hall Elementary School. The only way to reduce the FARMS percentage further would be to reassign the walkers from this school.
Washington Grove Elementary School
The FARMS percentage for Washington Grove Elementary School is in the mid-range of the elementary schools in the cluster and will be maintained at this range with the reassignment recommendation.
With respect to the geography factor, the recommendation maintains a contiguous service area and reassigns some students who will be able to walk to Gaithersburg Elementary School #8. In addition, some of the Rosemont Elementary School students reassigned to Washington Grove Elementary School who currently are bus riders would become walkers to Washington Grove Elementary School, increasing the number of walkers in the service area. And finally, with respect to the utilization factor, Washington Grove Elementary School will, with this recommendation, have capacity available over the 6-year planning period.
Middle Schools
The recommendation provides for a straight articulation for Gaithersburg Elementary School #8 by assigning the entire service area to Forest Oak Middle School. Also, the recommendation reassigns Washington Grove Elementary School to Gaithersburg Middle School.
With this recommendation, the demographic factor is advanced as the FARMS percentage at the two schools remain relatively constant. In regards to the geography factor, the current service areas for the two middle schools are noncontiguous and will remain noncontiguous with this recommendation. There are a small number of Washington Grove Elementary School students who currently walk to Forest Oak Middle School that, when reassigned, will be bused to Gaithersburg Middle School.
Summary
As I reviewed all of the staff-developed options, it was clear that a variation of Option 4 would best advance the four policy factors considered during a boundary study process. I could not recommend Options 1, 3, 5, 6, or 7 as the FARMS percentage for Gaithersburg Elementary School, the school with the highest FARMS percentage in the cluster, would increase. While Option 2 did decrease the FARMS percentage at Gaithersburg Elementary School, the decrease was not as significant compared to Option 4.
Addressing the space needs at the elementary school level in the Gaithersburg Cluster, while creating diverse student body populations and ensuring students attend schools close to their home is a complex goal. Board Policy FAA, Educational Facilities Planning, provides a framework to ensure that stakeholders are given an opportunity to share their input to inform my recommendation and ultimately the Board of Education’s decision.
Based on this input, I believe that my recommendation has addressed the goals to create school boundaries that most advance the factors in Board Policy FAA, Educational Facilities Planning. The recommendation reduces the disparity in the FARMS populations among the schools; addresses the facility utilization at the schools while maximizing the number of walkers; and reduces negative transportation impacts on families, resources, and the environment.
The full recommendation can be seen here.
Per Montgomery College:
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced $10 million in FY2021 Citizenship and Integration Grant Program awards to 40 public and private non-profit organizations across the country that prepare lawful permanent residents (LPRs) for naturalization. Montgomery College, one of only two recipients in Maryland, was awarded a $250,000 grant.
The College is receiving a grant under Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services. The College will provide at least 320 lawful permanent residents with citizenship preparation classes, activities to support integration into American civic life, and naturalization application services. Learners will have beginning to intermediate levels of English proficiency and will come from 80 different countries including, but not limited to, El Salvador, Honduras, Peru, Iran, India, and Ethiopia.
The College’s Citizenship Preparation Program uses the Enhanced Integration Tasks (EIT) model to help learners integrate into the receiving community. The program also works with local libraries and community-based organizations to enhance LPRs knowledge of available naturalization services.
Montgomery College will continue to partner with Immigration Legal Services (ILS) of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. ILS will provide naturalization application assistance to approximately 320 LPRs and will help at least 240 LPRs apply for naturalization over the next two years.
“We are grateful that USCIS continues to support the Montgomery College Citizenship Preparation Program,” said Dr. Charlene Dukes, interim president of Montgomery College. “Since 2010, Montgomery College has served more than 3,000 learners through this grant-funded opportunity, helping students increase their knowledge of English, as well as U.S. history and civics in preparation to becoming new Americans. The College is proud to support these LPRs, who enrich the culture and communities of Montgomery County.”
The Washington, D.C. area is fourth in the nation of immigration destinations for LPRs, ranked only behind New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. Maryland’s foreign-born population of 931,035 represents 15.4% of the total population of Maryland. Montgomery County is home to 337,060 of these residents.
Since 2009, the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program has awarded more than $112 million to help more than 290,500 LPRs prepare for citizenship. USCIS anticipates that an additional 25,000 LPRs will receive citizenship preparation services by Sept. 30, 2023, as a result of the awards issued through the grant program.
The Citizenship Preparation Program is part of Montgomery College’s Workforce Development & Continuing Education unit. For more information, please contact Dean of Instruction Dr. Donna Kinerney at [email protected].
Seneca Valley High School principal Marc Cohen sent a letter to the community yesterday (Saturday, October 16th) addressing the fight that ended the Seneca Valley/Northwest football game early and the increase in fights at the school this year.
Per the letter, there will be additional security, counselors, central office staff, and MCPD onsite at Seneca Valley beginning on Monday morning to help assure a safe and orderly learning environment.
The full letter can be seen below:
“Dear Seneca Valley High School Community,
Good evening families. Before I address the issues from last night’s football game, I want to take a moment to thank the over two thousand students, parents, and community members from Seneca Valley High School and Northwest High School who exhibited great sportsmanship and contributed to a friendly, yet competitive, fan experience. I also want to thank our Boosters and Outback Steakhouse for all your hard work making last night’s Outback Night concessions possible and for your contributions to our inaugural Hall of Fame inductions. We have a wonderful community and for most of the evening we had an exciting community event.
Unfortunately, as many of you are aware, late in the third quarter of the game we experienced a series of student fights that created serious and significant interruptions to the safety and security of the event. In partnership with the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), we were able to remove those who were fighting, but decided it was in the best interest of all involved to end the game.
I understand that there are rumors in the community about the brandishing of a weapon in one of these fights. At this time, I have no evidence to support that this happened. We did have one student transported to the hospital during the game. This was unrelated to any of the fights. The student suffered an injury attempting to climb over a fence to get into the game. I have spoken with the student and his parent and have confirmed that these were the circumstances behind his injury.
I have been the principal at Seneca Valley for twelve years and have always been proud of the maturity and problem-solving ability of our students. It is important to remember that the vast majority of our over 2100 students are not participating in these dangerous behaviors. Instead, they are engaging in their schoolwork, playing sports, joining clubs and other extracurricular activities, and experiencing the joy and fun of high school. It is also important to note though that the small number of students who are choosing fighting as their best option for addressing conflict, are compromising the safety and security of us all, and that cannot continue.
In the coming days, I will be reaching out to parents and students to collaborate on a plan to address the increase in fighting behaviors that we have seen this school year. I will be reaching out for support from the MCPS Department of School Safety and Security, the Department of Student and Family Support and Engagement, the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, and the Montgomery County Police Department, to help us address this significant challenge. The partnership between each of us is critical in the development of this comprehensive plan.
I am appealing to each of you to speak to your students today and to continue to reinforce that fighting is never the right answer. If your child needs help developing different strategies or making different choices, please have them contact me, their counselor, or their administrator. We are here to help.
To ensure a sense of increased safety and security among staff, students, and families, we will have MCPS resources including additional security, counselors, central office staff, and MCPD onsite at Seneca Valley beginning on Monday morning. Assuring a safe and orderly learning environment for each student within our community remains a top priority.
Sincerely,
Marc J. Cohen, Ed. D.
Principal”
